“N-nothing, ma’am.”
“Don’t play coy, I heard you! If Porsche is the top, then who’s the bottom?! Don’t tell me… Naega jeil jal naga!22 You’ve switched to guys now, huh?” Madam Yok said, pressing a hand to her chest. I paled. Was this the grand opening for my sexuality or some shit? Why was everyone around me finding out?
“Nothing, ma’am, it’s nothing,” I said. Although I was willing to let my friends know, I wasn’t prepared for anyone else to find out.
“I heard it with my own two ears,” Madam Yok said, dragging a chair over.
“Ma’am, I think that table is calling for you,” Tem said, trying to shift her attention elsewhere.
“Don’t try to trick me, or I’ll make you my wife,” she teased. Tem’s face fell and he turned away to gulp down his drink.
“There’s really nothing to talk about,” I insisted, wanting to drop the subject.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me, but if there’s anything you want to ask about topping or bottoming, you can come to me. I’m particularly experienced when it comes to pleasing men in the bedroom,” she said. Tem and Jom looked at her in disbelief until she leveled a fierce glare at them. “I’m serious! For example, I’m a bottom, but I’ve got my own special techniques—how else would those men fall so hard for me?”
We squinted at her.
Madam Yok might look a little stocky, but she had men lining up to serve her. Like today—I’d seen a fresh-faced man hanging around her office!
“How?” Tem asked earnestly.
“Ah, Tem, you’re pinging my gaydar pretty hard too… Is Porsche the top and you’re the bottom?” Madam Yok asked. We both hurriedly shook our heads. I’d rather have died than sleep with Tem!
“Ma’am, you started it, so you have to finish telling us,” Tem protested. I turned to look at him. I was starting to suspect Tem liked guys too—he had a different vibe about him lately.
“Ah, I’ll tell you,” she said. For some reason, I really wanted to hear her advice.
“If you’re the top, you’ve got to have the right moves. You need to find exciting new things for your partner to keep things interesting,” she explained. “But if you’re the bottom, you can’t just lie there like a dead fish! The more you take the initiative, the more exciting it will be. Have an active role in bed—don’t let the top dictate everything.”
Tem and I went silent as we listened to Madam Yok, while Jom looked like he would rather die than be subjected to this conversation any longer.
“And then what?” I blurted, kicking myself as soon as the words were out of my mouth. Why the fuck had I said that?!
Madam Yok laughed as I took a sip of my drink to hide my embarrassment.
“Didn’t you say you were the top?” she teased.
“I am the top! …Why don’t you keep going?!” I raised my voice. It seemed the longer I talked to Madam Yok, the more my secrets were revealed.
“I’m surprised to see I wasn’t wrong when I said you’d end up with a man,” Madam Yok said.
“When I say I top, I mean it. Are you going to continue?” I pressed.
“All right, fine, fine. Bottoms like us need to have our own signature style. How else are we going to get the top hooked on us, especially those playboy types? We have to make them so captivated that they can’t look away! You have to control the game, let them follow you—don’t let them boss you around too much. The more they feel like we’re in control, the more challenged they’ll feel too.”
“How?” Tem asked, furrowing his brow. Madam Yok leaned down and gestured for us to come closer. Tem and I leaned in and she whispered so only the two of us could hear her. As for Jom, he was distracted by a bunch of girls who’d gotten up to dance nearby.
Tem and I were mystified by what Madam Yok said, but we quickly schooled our shocked expressions back to normal.
Pete showed up to call us back to the table. Tankhun was starting to feel lonely, apparently, and wanted me to mix some drinks for him. I looked at Tem suspiciously, and Tem looked back at me.
“I don’t believe you’re a top,” he whispered as he sat back down in his chair.
“What about you? Whose bitch did you become?” I retorted. Tem acted like he hadn’t heard me.
I turned my attention back to everyone else at the table. Kinn kept shooting me unhappy glares, but I didn’t pay attention to him. Even though I’d calmed down considerably, his face still pissed me off.
“Let’s play a game while we wait for the band,” Tay suggested. It wasn’t that late yet, and the music playing through the speakers was the same slow, sappy shit. We all nodded in agreement.
“I want to play!” Tankhun exclaimed as he handed me his glass to mix him another drink.
“It’s called Never Have I Ever,” Tay said. “I’ve always wanted to play it.”
Everyone listened intently except for Kinn and I, who were seated opposite each other and staring each other down like we were waging psychological warfare.
“Oh, I’ve heard of it,” said Tankhun, explaining the rules. “We each take turns. When it’s your turn, you have to say ‘never have I ever’ and say something you’ve never done. If anyone else at the table has done that thing, they have to drink.”
“P’Tankhun still has a brain, I see,” Tay joked. Tankhun threw some ice at him.
“Let’s start,” Tankhun said. He ordered a round of vodka shots and lined them up in front of everyone.
“I’m not playing,” Kinn said.
“Me either,” Tem and I said hurriedly. I had a bad feeling about this. This stupid game didn’t sound very creative, either.
“You have to! Anyone that doesn’t play has to do fifty push-ups,” Tankhun ordered. I rolled my eyes. Was he a Territorial Defense23 instructor, ordering people around like that? Bastard! We all ended up agreeing to play, or Tankhun would throw a tantrum—then we’d have a real mess on our hands.
“The guys who don’t want to play must have a lot of secrets,” Mew said, eyeing me skeptically.
“Fine, fine, let’s play.” I was too tired to argue. Let’s just fucking get it over with. Kinn smirked and gave me a wicked look.